Links Showdown Benefits Food Bank

If the scenario unfolds as anticipated, Payson's St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank will soon reap the rewards of an inaugural golf tournament.

The benefit, which will be overseen by tournament director Dick Roy, will tee of at 9 a.m. May 4 at Payson Golf Course. The format will be "four-person shotgun scramble."

According to Roy, foursomes can be made upon request with minimum team handicaps of 50. But, he added, "the foursomes must be made up of A, B, C and D players based on submitted handicaps."

Players without handicaps can submit the averages of the last four games they've played. However, the "A" player must have a valid handicap and the team handicap is 20 percent of the "A" player.

The entry fee of $65 ($45 for Payson Golf Course members) includes green fees, cart and a buffet following the tournament.

In putting together the benefit, Roy has scoured the community asking for donations of prizes and awards.

The single biggest prize he's secured is the $10,000 to be awarded to any tournament participant who tallies a hole-in-one on the par 3, No. 2. Scoring an ace on the 198-yard hole is tough, PGC spokesman Jimmy Dagleish said.

But only a month ago on No. 2, veteran golfer Ken Althoff tallied a hole-in-one using a 5-wood.

When asked if he had any advice for those trying for an ace and the $10,000, Althoff replied, "Heck no, hole-in-ones are about 99 percent luck."

Only a few weeks after Althoff's super shot, Jack Greenshield tallied another ace on the hole.

In addition to the cash prize, awards will be given to men who are closest to the pin on holes No. 8 and No. 17.